


Overwatch Screenplay | "Honor and Glory"

by nickelflowers



Category: Overwatch (Video Game)
Genre: Gen, Screenplay/Script Format, Short Story
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-08-22
Updated: 2020-08-22
Packaged: 2021-03-07 02:01:25
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Major Character Death, No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,119
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26039113
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/nickelflowers/pseuds/nickelflowers
Summary: In the year 2077, the retired veteran Reinhardt reminisces his past, 20 years ago, as a glorious, bloodthirsty knight - where in dismay, he learns the true meaning of teamwork and comradery. Through these heartbreaking vivid memories, will he reconsider joining Overwatch's second calling, to help save the world once again?
Kudos: 1





	Overwatch Screenplay | "Honor and Glory"

**Author's Note:**

  * Inspired by [Overwatch Animated Short | “Honor and Glory”](https://archiveofourown.org/external_works/670738) by Ben Dai. 
  * Inspired by [Overwatch Animated Short | “Honor and Glory”](https://archiveofourown.org/external_works/670744) by Ben Dai. 



> This was written for my nephew! With the help of my friend Jeriko/"Please#11898", we both had lots of fun putting the legendary short into a fully readable short story screenplay/transcript.
> 
> I hope you enjoy!~ (〃ᵔワᵔ)ノ

The story is set in Germany, in the year 2070. In an abandoned kingdom named Eichenwalde, our two heroes reminisce their past in an empty old pub, on a nostalgic, orange afternoon. 

We see Brigitte Lindholm, a young lady in her twenties with a kind face yet a strong body and attitude, and Reinhardt Wilhelm, her godfather and teacher, a retired veteran soldier whose colossal height and build seem intimidating, along with his striking, white, shaggy hair and beard.

With much pain in her voice, Brigitte persuades Reinhardt to not join the band of heroes, Overwatch, once again. She cares for the actually kind, gentle giant, patching him up and fixing his armor - coming along with him in his journeys of doing vigilante justice around the world.

“I thought we talked about this. You don't have to do this anymore. Winston's message wasn't meant for you. This isn't your fight.” Winston, in eastern Europe, initiated the recall to bring back the disbanded group of heroes, Overwatch, once again, to protect humanity against all odds.

“Papa told me- after so many years of service - you gave Overwatch everything, and then they pushed you out! Why would you go back to them? What are you still fighting for?”

Reinhardt holds the Overwatch coin, the official token of invitation to the band of heroes he received twenty years ago.

_He flashes back to his past, in the year 2051, in the very same pub, holding the very same coin. The pub is neat and clean, filled with ecstatic soldiers, sharing stories and awaiting orders._

* * *

_“So, that's it? You're leaving us?”_ Reinhardt asks Balderich von Alder, his commander and general of his squad, tossing him the coin. Balderich is a likewise tall man with a clean-shaved head and a fully grown, masculine black beard.

Balderich, catching the coin, responds, “I have been called, I must answer! It is a great honor.” Balderich was invited to join Overwatch, a worldwide organization in protecting world peace and supporting technological improvement.

Reinhardt, with his strong, raspy voice, disagrees. “Ugh, to disappear into some secret organization, give up the glory of being a Crusader? I don't think so!” 20 years ago, the young Reinhardt still had his strikingly long, blonde hair. He saw Balderich with a design of gold, royal ornaments, decorating everywhere from Balderich’s helmet, a fluffy royal mantle below his head, and even golden scroll designs on his lower armor.

His comrade soldier, listening to the two giants, laughs beside Reinhardt at the bar table. Drinking a pint of beer, he replies, “Hah, he wishes he got picked!”

Reinhardt grabs and steals his comrade’s pint of beer and finishes it whole, exhaling from relief, as he finishes carving his name with a knife on the wooden table. The soldier stared at disbelief at the giant German man, wearing refined, steel and bronze German armor - not for Reinhardt’s size, for the beer he stole, of course.

Reinhardt wishes Balderich wouldn’t leave his side. “The Crusaders are immortal defenders of Germany! _People will be singing songs about our legacies!_ ” Crusaders are towering men and women alike, bearing extravagant armor, rocket hammers, and the ability to deploy bright, large, transparent, and blue rectangular shields to protect their team.

Balderich, with a likewise strong voice, says that “Our legacies are our deeds, and this war is bigger than all of us.” Reinhardt, hearing this, rolls his eyes, believing that warfare is simply a rough playground for men.

_Gunfire and explosions are heard from afar._ A soldier shouts “General Balderich! Drop pods to the East! They're coming!”

Balderich, leading his squad in the pub, exclaims, “Alright, people! They're playing our song! Stick with your dance partners. Let's crush those rustbuckets!” Reinhardt, hearing this, winks at his fellow soldiers, but they uncomfortably gaze away.

Reinhardt hands Balderich his rocket hammer. “Here's your walking stick, old man!”

Balderich replies, “Hah, live with honor!”

“Hah! Die with glory!” Reinhardt replies proudly in return.

The battle against the Omnics begins, as the soldiers are now seen in battle. Side by side, they fight and push towards the destructive army of robots, as brave men with their towering rectangular shields protect the soldiers behind them.

Balderich leads his team towards the army. “We work as one! Rockets up, fire!”, he says, as a barrage of rockets destroys the opposing side. Pieces of orange and black scatter through the scene as the robots are blown into pieces.

Right behind them, Reinhardt is seen alone, laughing, as he charges and powers through the seemingly weak Bastion units. His Crusader armor allows him to slide through the ground with its compact rocket engine at the back of his armor.

“Catch!” he shouts, even throwing one of the robots at the mechanized enemy army. “Hah, I love the wind in my hair!” as he flips a stray hair covering his face with a flick of his head.

Balderich scolds him as he selfishly left behind his team for the sake of personal glory. “Get back and protect your team!”

“Ah, they're just slowing me down!”, Reinhardt grunts. “Besides, they're fine!” as she smashes two Bastion units with excitement.

Ironically, in the distance, a soldier shouts in worry and under fire, “Where is Reinhardt?!”

Suddenly, a massive drop pod falls from the sky. As it lands, a monstrous robot called an OR-14 emerges, making a terrifying robotic noise as it prepares itself.

A soldier spots the robot in horror. “What is that?” as his squad sees a mechanical monstrosity - a four-legged omnic with a machine gun on its right arm. Its fearful, intimidating full-metal look and height contests the already tall Crusaders themselves.

“That... is mine!” Reinhardt laughs, in amazement and excitement, as he charges alone once again, even faster into its rain of fire.

“Damn it, Reinhardt!” Balderich exclaims in regret.

As Reinhardt intends to overpower the OR-14 with his mighty charge, but as soon as the robot pushes back and strongly holds its ground, its feet cracking the cement road beneath it, Reinhardt stares at the robot in disbelief. The robot deploys a bright, blazing orange sword in its other arm and swiftly attacks him, as Reinhardt finds himself on the ground.

Balderich in distress calls out, “Reinhardt!” Suddenly, a fellow Crusader exclaims, “Heads up! More of those things!”, as another OR-14 arrives into the skirmish.

A soldier exclaims in fear, “We're being overrun!” Balderich tells his team “Fall back to the rally point. I'll get Reinhardt!”

Reinhardt, shaking his head in dizziness, tries to get back up, as his new, red scar across his left eye disorients and blinds him. The OR-14 unhesitantly steps on his armor and prepares to take him down. Balderich, however, steps in the way with an unhesitant blow with his hammer to the menacing robot.

The OR-14, however, already broken with sparks coming out of its head and body, uses its blade and counter-attacks, striking Balderich on his side. Grunting, with one arm, Balderich finishes off the robot with his one strong blow.

Reinhardt, holding his pride, gasps “I had this!”

“Obviously.” Balderich replies. “They're cutting us off. Let's move!” They charge towards the nearby castle under the heavy rain of fire, dodging gunshots and explosions alike.

Reinhardt and Balderich enter a large, grey crumbling castle, securing its grand gate with a huge rectangular wooden blockade. They arrive at an abandoned, crumbling atmosphere, with sunlight beaming from the broken rooftops.

Balderich, grunting in pain, says “The door won't hold. Get back to the unit - agh...” interrupted by the ache of his wound, he continues, “...I will hold them off.” Holding his bleeding side, he seems so strong yet still so fragile.

“And let you have all the glory? We will fight our way back! Together!” Reinhardt says, with the thrill of the kill still surging in his blood.

_Balderich sets his heavy hammer on the floor as the metal hits the ground with a heavy clunk._

“No.” Balderich says, taking off his helmet. “I'm staying here.” Balderich knows only one of them can get out of the castle alive.

“But, I...” Reinhardt stammers, taking a breath, “...without you!”

“ _Lieutenant!_ You took an oath to be a Crusader. Now, keep it!”

_Balderich holds his arm for Reinhardt to shake it._

Reinhardt, anxious for his mentor to die alone, stutters, “I... I won't leave you!”

_The enemy seems to get closer and closer,_

_as the wooden gate barely holds off a blast of enemy fire._

Balderich, still calm and confident in both his and Reinhardt’s skill, assures him - “The team needs you. Be their shield!”

Reinhardt stares at the ground, frowned and in disbelief. From this moment on, he follows his commander. He now knows his role in his team, and he puts back his reckless, personal chase for blood rushing action. 

_He looks back at Balderich with a strong, serious look on his face, and takes Balderich’s hand. Reinhardt lets his hand go, and realizes that Balderich left him the Overwatch token._

_“Reinhardt, live with honor.”_

They look at each other for the last time. Reinhardt accepts the higher calling of protecting his team, and gives his own hammer to Balderich.

With as much pain in his voice, Reinhardt looks and walks away, saying, 

_“Die with glory... old friend.”_

As Reinhardt exits the castle, the wooden gates fall apart, revealing the huge wave of the terracotta-colored army they just ran away from. Balderich, the only one left in the castle, knows what will happen next. He turns around to the enemy, and puts on his helmet as its eyes start glowing a strong, courageous blue. He holds two hammers, both Reinhardt’s and his, flamingly charging up his rocket armor and the two hammers themselves, and blazes full-power, head-first to the enemy.

Meanwhile, in the path to retreat, the soldiers who fell back are now in trouble as well. A soldier gets shot in the knee and tries to retaliate with his pistol, as a teammate of his tries to carry him to safety. As the soldiers are downed and losing hope, the Bastion units transform into threatening gatling sentries, one single moment before a devastating rain of fire.

Out of the grey, Reinhardt crashes through a stone wall, his arm in front of him, as it deploys a shield to protect his downed allies. He doesn’t just use his armor, but his life, which both he just swore to utilize for his team and his team only.

Balderich, still in the castle, spins in a whirlwind of destruction as a glorious last stand. With both hammers with their rockets exaggerating his extraordinary fighting style, the tools of destruction reduce the Bastion units to pieces. Balderich, standing his ground with the army overwhelming him, throws Reinhardt’s hammer into the enemy’s backline, ending in a grand explosion.

Reinhardt’s shield is breaking apart from the hailstorm of bullets. As he calls caution to his team, “Barrier is failing!” As his shield disintegrates, his first instinct is to shield his teammates with his own body and armor.

Balderich, with the last bit of strength in him against the final enemy, uses all his strength to leap up, holding his hammer above his head with both hands, and down on the OR-14 with one finishing blow.

As Reinhardt’s teammates cower behind him, his grand armor defends them as it holds back bullets and nearby, blinding detonations - air support arrives in bomber jets, clearing the area to finish the last wave of enemies. As the sky clears up, his teammates look over to him, surprised by his change of heart. Reinhardt looks at the tall castle that he was forced to leave his mentor in.

Balderich had used up all his remaining strength. Finished with his mission of protecting his team, he and his armor crash to sit on a nearby, royal wooden throne, amongst all the destroyed mechanical parts of the enemy.

  
_  
_

_The courageous, glowing blue light of Balderich’s helmet slowly fades into black._

* * *

Back to 2070, Reinhardt finds himself staring at Balderich’s armor - 20 years after, still on the very same throne, now with cobwebs and a dusty atmosphere. 

Brigitte takes notice of Reinhardt’s subtle, yet recognizable sign of respect to his fallen comrade, as he places the Overwatch coin on the throne’s armrest. 

The royal wooden armrest was shaped as a fierce wolf with ears pointed up - strikingly similar to Balderich’s royal helmet design. 

_He will always know that Overwatch’s invitation is for the greater good, the same good he had served before._

Remembering the sacrifice of his glorious mentor and friend, he remembers what Balderich told him. He tells Brigitte, with a certain confidence in his heart,

_“I have been called. I must answer._

_Always.”_


End file.
